WASHINGTON: Budget crunch be damned, the Defense Department’s effort to get more energy-efficient is still in business, said the assistant secretary in charge. Even without the free-flowing supplemental funds and the flexibility of the “rapid equipping” initiatives that allowed for speedy spending at the height of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Pentagon is still trying to reduce its… Keep reading →
This is refreshing: the Ivanpah solar facility in California has been given a delightful media makeover at Gizmodo, where it was dubbed “insane”. The article’s author describes it, as seen from the 15 freeway, as “a rippling, mirage-like, silvery blur that feels like it might sear your retinas if you look at it too long”…a bit more… Keep reading →
There are common arguments among those who are skeptical of the potential of renewable energy – they are too expensive, certain forms require more energy than they produce, they are a drain on public finances, etc. Bjørn Lomborg, adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School and Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, has made a point… Keep reading →
Only a few short years ago the U.S. coal industry enjoyed a mini-renaissance with several new large power plants brought on line in 2010 and 2011, which at the time firmly entrenched coal as the dominant source of electric generation in the U.S. Since then, coal’s share of the electric market has contracted sharply, and… Keep reading →
As consensus builds around climate change, with new evidence seeming to emerge daily, many questions remain about the degree to which human activity contributes, the rate at which carbon dioxide levels are increasing, the severity of and speed at which the changing climate will impact modern society. New research into the planet’s most recent warming… Keep reading →
Expectations that we are on the verge of a global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources may be mistaken. “Humanity is not entering a period that will be dominated by renewables… investment in unconventional fossil-fuel extraction and distribution is now expected to outpace spending on renewables by a ratio of at least three-to-one in the… Keep reading →
Arguments about expensive, exotic renewables are dated If you are among those who still believes that renewables are exotic, expensive, unreliable, intermittent or whatever, you may be fighting a losing battle. With each passing day, renewables are gaining ground, and their shortcomings, most notably intermittency, diffused energy source and low capacity factor, are getting compensated in ingenious ways.… Keep reading →
The US federal government has long had a hand in guiding development of the country’s energy sector. In some cases, such as the Department of Energy’s role in the early stages of research and development that helped usher in the shale boom, this has been hailed as a success. In others, such as the highly-publicized… Keep reading →
The U.S. military has said time and again that moving away from a reliance on fossil fuels is in its best interest, for energy security reasons and as a matter of keeping troops safe. Despite this, such efforts – particularly on the biofuels front – have caught flak from Republicans in Congress. But President Obama isn’t backing off, or so it… Keep reading →
Bypassing Congress, president outlines ambitious climate agenda Perhaps, like the rest of us, President Obama does most of his reading – and thinking – when he is away from the office on travel. Speaking in Berlin in June following the G8 summit – which may be characterized as a futile annual shindig in search of a… Keep reading →
